Hunter Prince
by itsanotherfanficwriterohno
Summary: War is on the horizon, this much he knew. But a young Prince without political or military might has no chance of stopping a war on his own. Jim needs allies, and fast. Unfortunately, when your own parents are working against your aims, you have to be creative. (Dark Medieval Fantasy AU).


**Hunter Prince**

* * *

**Disclaimer: Don't own Trollhunters or any of its characters. **

**Hey! Back with a new story! This is more of a fun project for me to practice medieval fantasy in. I'm on a Game of Thrones kick lately and this is what came out of it. Shoutout to my friends for supporting me. Reviews, favorites and follows are always appreciated. :) I hope you enjoy the first chapter! **

* * *

Summary

**War is on the horizon, this much he knew. But a young Prince without political or military might has no chance at stopping a war on his own. Jim needs allies, and fast. Unfortunately, when your own parents are working against your aims, you have to be creative.**

**As queen, she has spent centuries building her unrivaled network of spies, but even she cannot unravel the mystery of her sister's disappearance. Now, Barbara must rely on her wits, magicks and a surly former lover if she ever hopes to uncover the truth.**

**Despite his warnings, humanity continues to encroach upon his territory. As King of the Darklands, he has spent more than a millennia guarding this cold, barren wasteland. It is time to fulfill the prophecy on his own terms. **

**(Dark Medieval Fantasy AU)**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Darkness before Dawn**

* * *

_Two households, both alike in dignity. (Romeo and Juliet, Act 1, Prologue, Shakespeare)_

* * *

The remains of the human army were scattered against the grounds of the small village. A particularly gruesome image if he ever saw one.

_Not for long_, he thought with a grimace, as members of their forces crept in to take whatever scraps they could find. The sound of bones crunching and tendons popping nearly made him vomit on the spot. The pungent smell of the dead did not help matters. No doubt the entire place would be cleared before daybreak, the bellies of his countrymen filled and ready for the return march ahead.

He adjusted the sword at his hip. It was too large for someone his size, stuck between man and troll, but he could use it well enough. Years of training had prepared him for this.

His upper lip snagged his tusks. By the Void, he wished his teacher were here. Alas, Blinkous of Galadrigalia would not step anywhere near a battlefield of this sort. _Too many bad memories and old wounds_, he told the boy as he aided him into his armor. Though the troll knew all the ins and outs of swordplay, he refused to pick one up, preferring the company of books and his students to the glory of war and conquest so many of their kind revered.

Alas, unlike his dear tutor his fate left him no room to avoid this type of work. It was times like these he wished he'd been born of another destiny, one where his status and birth didn't determine his lot in life.

Fog clung to the earth and sky, drenching the area in miserable dampness. Even within the chainmail and furs the biting cold snuck into his veins, burrowing inside like sparrows at the advent of winter. He shivered as another frigid wind tore through the lines of soldiers, so howling and fierce he almost believed it to be alive. Perhaps they were. More than once his mother spoke of the old gods.

He wondered if the weather was indicative of their current mood. Out of respect, he whispered a small prayer. It was the least he could do.

Half-frozen mud squished beneath his feet. As a child he heard wondrous tales about the Grand Canals of Arcadia, yet to see it in person left him rather disillusioned. Of course, by Spring this narrow, barren valley would be a rushing river, carrying the winter snows out towards the southern seas, but now it was little more than a makeshift border between these territories.

His gaze rested on the town before him. Though he lacked the intellect of his mentor he understood well enough their reasons for this 'visit.'

Dying embers rose from the makeshift chimney as the night's frost glistened off the roofs and doors. As the troops searched the area for food, weapons and mead, he could not help but feel a tinge of sadness.

Humanity had slowly been encroaching on their lands due to the excess of ore and salt deposits, huge commodities in a kingdom that survived largely off of cattle and farmland. Twas no wonder that within a few years several new settlements had sprung up across the boundary, despite their warnings of retaliation.

But this was only supposed to be a skirmish. A scare tactic, nothing more. Instead, his father's forces had massacred the _entire_ population.

Crimson mixed with dirt and early morning frost. Here and there he saw them, those who fought thrown haphazardly across the mud and those who tried to flee huddled and died together in small piles. While tradition deemed the enemy warriors to be burned, the soldiers of this regimen did not adhere to such rules, taking what they liked however they pleased instead.

He opened his eyes and then closed them; it mattered not. His stomach lurched.

A large hand covered his mouth.

It was not his own.

He stilled. Seconds ticked by before the wielder bent down, gruffly remarking into his ear, "Do not sully our sire's reputation, half-blood. Purge your conscious elsewhere. Tis no place for the battlefield, especially our own."

A battlefield was it? He wanted to laugh but found no energy to do so. Instead, he swallowed back his emotions, tilting his head upwards to face the other.

"I'll do no such thing, brother." He added softly, "I am a warrior."

Bular shot him a doubtful glance. "Is that what your nursemaid tells you?"

He regarded the other in annoyance. While others would be cowed by his elder brother's fearsome regalia (the blood-colored armor a stark contrast against the gloomy landscape), he held his head high, refusing to back down.

"Blinkous is _not _my nursemaid. He knows more about tactics and battles than you ever will."

"Tactics mean nothing in the heat of battle. It is brute strength that decides the victor, not fancy parlor tricks and maneuvers."

"If that were true, you would have won the Battle of Killahead _and_ the Battle of Glastonbury Tor," he pointed out, tongue sharp and ready to cut. Eager to best his brother through the only medium he could, he continued, "Now, is there a particular reason you have graced me with your most _honored_ presence? After all, we all know what a _comforting _elder brother you are." Without thinking he ended his counter with a barb. "I almost wish her Highness were with us today to see what loving siblings we've become. Perhaps then she would allow you to return to court."

Darkness swept over his brother's features as pallor overtook his own.

An insult like that would not go without reparations. Though Bular was his elder, there was no love lost between the two. Losing face in court had drastically damaged the other's reputation and rising stardom amongst the ranks of their kingdom's military. Their sire had seen to it that Bular had a legion to command, but he would never regain the powers he once wielded so long as he and the Queen continued to be on the outs.

The same Queen who bore him.

He scowled, eyes burning like bright coals in the night. "Mind your words. The next time you act so brazen I will not hesitate to remove one of your horns, shared blood or not."

He nodded curtly. As loathe as he was to admit it, he should have stayed quiet. Had they been common Gumm-Gumms, only one of them would still be standing at such an affront.

Bular leaned forward, claws tightening around his head as he spoke. "The Queen and her elk may choose to coddle you but I will not. It is I who am in charge here, not you. Your bearer can keep her _impure_ minions in her so-called court for all I care." His eyes narrowed. "From the look on your face, I can already tell I've wasted too much time in bothering to try and teach you. Know this, little brother: the only reason you stand here is at father's request. Remember that."

Without warning, Bular yanked him by the hair at his nape so that he fell backward. His brother's followers chuckled at the display.

How humiliating. Cheeks burning, he quickly returned to his feet, storming off in the opposite direction, lest he made more of an embarrassment of himself amongst his brother's soldiers.

It was a familial power play and one Bular would always win. While he was faster than the older male he could not hope to match his brother's brute strength and height.

No matter how smart or cunning he could try to be, he would always be half-flesh.

James, Son of House Lake, First of his Name, Heir to Two Thrones—it was an endless list of empty titles. Here, on the "battlefield" and in front of his father's battalion, Bular and his army saw him as nothing more than a whelp playing soldier.

A bitter sigh escaped his lips.

He was starting to wonder if they were right.

* * *

Death nipped at their heels. Her ally's fatal injury didn't help matters. He limped behind, holding the wound at his chest with his dominant hand while the other scrambled for purchase up the steep hilled terrain.

The tall beautiful trees that greeted their arrival now sent a shiver down her spine, no longer so beautiful and majestic as she'd been led to believe. Stepping into the forest had robbed them of sense and direction, the burning village behind them their only indication of navigation. Not even a full moon could penetrate the dense canopy above them, which rustled and swayed like the sea.

These were not the lands of her brethren. She'd been born on Arcadian grounds, far inside the midlands where the capital stood. The forests there were colorful, evergreens and cedars that happily shaded the berry bushes she once plucked from as a child.

She knew she'd passed the boundaries but the look of the landscape. Here, the woodlands were dark, primal and contorted in manners she had never seen. No berry bush or fruit-bearing could ever hope to grow in harsh lands such as these.

Branches snagged at her cloak, threatening to impede her every step.

Claire bit back a sob. It was all her fault. If only they had kept moving instead of resting for the night. But she had underestimated her enemies' desperation. The assassin struck right as the armies across the border arrived, leaving them no time to regroup or find a healer.

Not that Sir Kanjigar could recover from such a wound. They'd been lucky he'd not petrified immediately, though she wondered if that would have been a better fate than the encroaching death before her.

She clutched her chest as he finally keeled over.

"No, you must get up!" She said, joining his side. "We can still make it."

Inwardly, she knew it was a fruitless endeavor, but the innocent young girl she was before all this still clung to the faint hope that everything would turn out well and good.

"I'm afraid this is where our journey ends, milady," he said, grunting as the poison worked its way through his system. "A thousand apologies."

She shook her head. Wetness gathered at the corners of her eyes. Sir Kanjigar had been all she had left. She had left everything behind for this.

Her hands clutched at his chest. "No, this is not where you shall spend your final breath, Sir," she ordered, hoping she sounded as authoritative as her birthright. Listen to me: you are the Trollhunter. You have survived countless battles. We will find a healer, but you _must _get up. Think of Trollmarket. Think of Draal. They would be lost without you. _I _would be lost without you."

"It is not—"

"I will not allow you to die. I forbid it!"

She could barely stand to look him in the eyes. They both knew what was to come.

Her fist smacked against his cold ground, again and again, until at last, he spoke.

"Milady," he wheezed. "Enough."

He lifted her chin with his remaining hand. It pained her to see him in such a state.

Sir Kanjigar of Trollmarket was like no other. He was a battle-scarred old warrior, face etched with the centuries of service he'd provided both kingdoms. Countless Nuñez had relied on his aid and counsel throughout the years. It broke her heart to think she would be the last.

"I cannot take you the rest of the way," he stated, stroking her face like her father once did. "You must part with me. The longer you stay here the faster our pursuers can find you. My son…will live on. The Amulet will find a new champion; it always has. But you must hurry. Dawn will break soon. Our liaison lies a day's journey to the north of the sunrise, just beyond this forest. Get there. You will know him when you see him. He will take you to safety."

Her chest shook, body numb and unwieldy. "This isn't fair. I can't do this without you."

"You must. The fate of your family and the kingdoms obligates you."

The amulet began to blink. Slowly, he removed the device from his chest, the magic dissipating from his body. Her throat seized at the sight. The poison had spread throughout his upper and lower halves.

"May the Grace of Daya guide you through the Void to your ancestors," she recited as she took his last gift.

His lips perked up as his vision began to fade into white. "And…may the Mother guard you…for all your days."

She nodded. She could not look away as he gave his last breaths, determined to stay by his side.

It was in this small moment she allowed herself to grieve. Grieve for her family's misfortune, grief for her inability to protect her kingdom and people, and grieve for the lives lost in order to get her this far.

Her gaze flickered to the sky. His words proved true; dawn was coming. She didn't have much time.

"Goodbye dear friend," she whispered, wiping her tears before setting off on her journey.

Her feet scurried across the cold forest floor. Leaves scattered in their wake. Now, without her protector, the forest took on a more sinister nature. The hairs on her neck prickled in dread as she traveled silently through these woods. Every sound made her heart lurch. Though she knew it merely her mind playing tricks, she could not help but think of the assassin, and whether or not he brought any others.

No, she could do this. Her fingers squeezed the amulet within the folds of her robes. The cold metal reminded her of what she must do.

Though her heart bled for the lives lost, she willed herself to go forward. Once she found a safe place she would properly mourn her fallen comrade. For now, however, she needed to move.

A sound intruded, wrestling her out of deep thought.

She didn't even have time to scream when the creator of the noise came upon her.

* * *

She squirmed within his grasp. Jim adjusted his hold. The human was petite, but her eyes held a ferocity that promised far more than what she could likely give.

"Unhand me, fiend!" She hissed.

Had it been any other day he would have. Humans were a strange sort. Though his mother imbodied their appearance, she was of another sort of being all together, born of magicks and a world no longer accessible to their kind. It was one of the reasons his sire took her hand after all.

Amongst others.

But today was different. Whereas before he had placed humanity out of his mind, now, after the carnage, an unsettling sensation of responsibility weighed down upon him. She had not caused this battle. Her only fault was being the wrong species in the wrong place. If Bular or one of his soldiers found her she would be carved up and eaten like the rest.

And Jim could not allow that to happen.

Leaves crunched beneath unforgiving feet. The marching had begun. Quickly, he pulled her behind a thicket of gathered trees, hoping his scent would cover her own.

"Please stay silent, miss," he whispered. "They will hear you otherwise."

Her body tensed at his words. Around them, the procession grew louder. Armor clinked together, held in rhythm to the vibrating beat of their drums and deep barking songs. He dare not translate the words to the human, knowing what revulsion they would bring.

He could not help but examine her. The night was dark but his eyesight blessed him the vision before him. Dark windswept hair framed her heart-shaped face, highlighting the contours of her cheeks and rose-colored lips. While he had little experience with human ages, he guessed her to be near his own more or less.

His heart thumped wildly against his chest. This was the first time he had ever been so close to a maiden. He wanted to speak, to impress her with his knowledge of her native tongue, but instead kept quiet, desperately wishing not to embarrass himself in front of her.

As the marching began to fade, he loosened his hold on her. It was only just. She quickly pulled away; he let her. A few tense seconds fast before she broke it with her words.

"How could they?" she spat, fingers clenched around the sides of her cloak. "Honorless barbarians. They were only miners and their families and they slaughtered them."

He lifted an eyebrow, realizing she knew not who or what he was.

He would have found it refreshing, if he wasn't so overcome with guilt.

"Can't say I disagree at this point," he mumbled, throat tightening at her remark.

Was this what being a warrior was about? Jim bit the inside of his cheek. More than once he had sat at the foot of his sire, listening to the tales of old, when magic ran wild and honorable knights protected their kingdoms. Every battle had a story, a purpose, and an ending. Even the Battle of Killahead had its place in his father's halls, sung to bring about nostalgic melancholy in those there and not there.

So where was the glory in murdering these innocents? How had a border skirmish broken out into slaughter?

It set him on edge.

By the Void. Jim shook his head. He could scarcely believe what had happened. This was his first excursion with the company and he hoped it his last. Being put in his brother's battalion had been a foolish error on the head advisor's part. Not that anyone could persuade the troll outside the king himself. Sir Dictatious was the complete opposite of his brother.

It was no wonder they hated each other.

The girl continued to rant. "How dare they attack Arcadian soil. Do they want to start another war with the kingdoms?" Her voice grew hoarse. "Does the Treaty of Avalon mean nothing now?"

"A war would be most disagreeable for everything I should think," he answered.

She blinked, cheeks reddening as she straightened out her linens to curtsy.

"Excuse my manners. Thank you for your assistance. I am utmost in your debt. With whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?"

With whom indeed. Jim glanced at her outfit and features. This was no peasant, he gathered, but someone more highborn, though how much so he could not determine by sight alone. While her cloak was ratty and riddled with holes the cloth beneath was well-made, shielding her from the Darkland winds. She lacked the pockmarks and blemishes other humans tended to carry too.

His eyes widened as he realized how quiet he had been. He coughed into his hand, head bobbing. "It's Jim, milady."

"Thank you, Jim. It's good to know I'm not the only one who survived."

He winced. She believed him human. He supposed, in the darkness, night-blindness would suggest it as such. While taller than most of their kind he was significantly shorter than a majority of trolls.

"You're traveling alone?" He asked. Perhaps he could return her to her group before she realized who he was.

She paused, shoulders shaking. "My companion…He didn't make it."

"My deepest apologies," he said and he meant it sincerely. "Is there anything I can do? A lady such as yourself shouldn't be out here alone. Where are you heading to? Perhaps I can lead you there."

Already he formulated a plan to get her away, far from the Gumm-Gumms that still lingered in these forests.

It would have worked, he could have gotten her as close to her destination before disappearing at daybreak, if something else hadn't spoken up instead, breaking the fragile peace between them.

**James of House Lake.**

Instantly, he drew back, back ramrod straight at the power the voice possessed. It chilled him to the bone, clinging to his eardrums in a soft echoing whisper. He knew not where it came until the girl fished it from her robes. He thought it one of Blinky's strange time devices until he noticed the pulsating blue magic that lay beneath its metallic parts.

"Did," he began in a breathless manner, "Did that thing just say my name?"

Her brows furrowed. She held the circular object out plainly, squinting as she looked between it and himself.

"But it's never chosen…who are you?" She asked, pressing forward.

Jim accidentally backed into one of the trees, horns biting into the bark. A familiar scent was picked up through the air, coupled with equally familiar footfalls.

His breath caught in his throat. Through the blackness, he could see the figure approach.

A haphazard plan based on foolishness and Gumm-Gumm tradition arose within him. His cheeks burned at what he was about to do. He had hoped—no, that kind of life was not accessible to one such as he.

He looked back to the girl, confusion, and fear spreading across her face. She did not deserve this fate he would bring her, but he could not bear to see her die this day.

"I am so very very _very_ sorry for what I am about to do," he said, inwardly praying to the Void for his actions.

He muffled her scream with his gloved hand, the other tilting her neck for access.

The taste of copper met his tongue and suddenly he understood why so many of his countrymen developed a taste for it.

It was over in an instant, but he knew, somehow, that he had changed both their futures.

Whether for better or for worse was yet to be determined.

The bushes rustled behind them, branches snapping as his elder brother strode onto the scene.

Carefully, Jim lifted his mouth, wiping the red from his lips with the back of his hand. The girl below him held the nape of her neck tenderly, eyes shooting daggers at him.

Bular regarded the two with an unimpressed brow. "Father will be most displeased when he hears of this."

"Salutations to you, brother," he replied.

The girl shuddered within his grasp, now likely putting together the pieces of his identity. "What have you done?" She whispered, face alike to a corpse.

The other balanced his broadsword on his shoulder, clearly taking pleasure in Jim's act. "A messenger arrived from the castle. Our arrival is expected." He looked the girl up and down, measuring her with a growing sneer. "If you wanted a bloody fleshbag for your intended you should have just asked. I'm sure one of my men could have found you one with more meat on her bones than this twig."

"It seems our taste in wenches diverges. I quite like twigs." Jim sent his brother a cold smile, refusing to react to his insult.

Bular sniffed, features smoothing over into disinterest as he set off back towards the legion. "Have it your way."

Once his presence was gone, the girl collapsed, her shivering now full-blown shakes.

"This is disastrous," she cried.

Jim shared the sentiment and wanted to voice it, but thought better of it. Scooping her up into his arms (and ignoring her feeble protests), he began his march towards home, knowing that his actions would not go unpunished.


End file.
